US President Donald Trump attacked what he called a "phony story" on Thursday after a report that he is under investigation for possible obstruction of justice by the special counsel probing alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election and possible collusion with the Trump campaign.

(That doesn't mean they won't do exactly that, of course.) We are now talking about the President of the United States being investigated for possibly obstructing justice in relation to a criminal probe about a foreign government meddling in our elections for the goal of defeating his Democratic opponent.

Reports said Trump approached Coats and Rogers to get their help in derailing the Russian Federation investigation. In this regard, counsel Robert S Mueller III has sought interviews with senior USA intelligence officials.

The tables have seemingly turned however, with Trump himself reportedly under investigation for possible obstruction of justice, sparked in part by his firing of FBI Director James Comey last month. Nor did he deny he has entered the miniscule ranks of sitting presidents who have become the subject of a criminal investigation. Any such step would face a steep hurdle as it would require approval by the US House of Representatives, which is controlled by Trump's fellow Republicans.

Based on accounts of people familiar with the investigation, the reports say Mueller plans to interview Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, National Security Agency (NSA) Director Michael Rogers and former NSA Deputy Director Richard Ledgett. The decision marks a major turning point in the ongoing FBI investigation, the Post reported, citing unnamed sources.

At an off-camera briefing for reporters, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders referred questions about the president's latest tweets to Trump's personal attorney.

Moscow has denied US intelligence agencies' conclusion that it interfered in last year's USA presidential election campaign to try to tilt the vote in Trump's favor.

The White House has denied any collusion, and Trump has repeatedly complained about the probe, saying Democrats can not accept his election win.

"I think, frankly, our story shows that the president is by no means out of the woods as far as the investigation goes", the Post's Barrett told NPR.

Responding to a question phoned in by a USA man from the state of Arizona, Putin said that Comey's testimony did not include any evidence that Russian Federation meddled in the election.

"The FBI leak of information regarding the President is outrageous, inexcusable and illegal", Kasowitz said via a spokesman.

The obstruction of justice investigation into Trump began days after Comey was sacked on May 9, according to people familiar with the matter, the Washington Post said. Grassley said Comey's dismissal and Comey's testimony on Lynch should be looked at together, noting that Comey "took the opportunity in his testimony to clear his own name by denouncing as false the administration's claims that the FBI rank-and-file had lost confidence in Mr. Comey's leadership in the wake of the Clinton email investigation". The New York Timesalso reported the story.

"The investigation is examining possible contacts with Russian operatives as well as any suspicious financial activity related to those individuals", the daily said.

The president expressed annoyance about news reports that the probe is now believed to include an examination of whether he obstructed justice by firing FBI Director James Comey, who had earlier led the Russian Federation investigation.

"The investigation has been cloaked in secrecy, and it is unclear how many others have been questioned by the FBI", it said.

It is unclear how many others have been questioned by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the sources told the daily.

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